(Newser)
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It could be a quick question: What's your religion? But Facebook’s request for that information has led many to review and revise their beliefs to fit into a 100-character space, the Washington Post reports. Answers range from Christian, Facebook’s most popular belief system, to a professed belief in a “Flying Spaghetti Monster.” Islam and atheism are the site’s second and third most popular religions.

While some write jokes—“Jedi” is the 10th most popular religion—others wrestle with putting their complex views in a tiny box. One woman, for example, wanted to write “Catholic,” but worried her friends would misinterpret her beliefs on hot-button political issues. Then again, not writing “Catholic” could spark questions at church. “A question like that kind of makes you think,” says a college student.

BlahBlahBlah, I think justme and you are both wrong. Of course justme is mistaken that militancy is a definitional requirement of atheism, or even a characteristic of most atheists, but I do believe that in atheism's insistence that there CAN'T BE a deity, athiesm is similarly dogmatic to religious belief. Sure, the burden of proof for an improbable hypothesis (like the existence of God) falls on the party whose belief is more conflicting with science and common sense, but the most extreme dogmatism-avoidant response to far-fetched claims that are not provably wrong, mystical or otherwise, can only be "I doubt it." An insistence that far-fetched claims MUST be false tends to reveal the denier's wishful investment in believing them false. Wishful thinking is the corruption at the heart of what makes dogmatic religious belief and the political fascism it breeds so offensive, so atheists, try not to make the same mistake at the other extreme. Doubting is civilized, denying is a bit anal. It is still justified to act politically from doubt about the claims that religious people make. After all, life forces us to make decisions all the time, but it is rare that any decision is ever made from absolute certainty.

BlahBlahBlah

Sep 2, 2009 2:30 AM CDT

Excuse me justme, I don't remember yanking the monkey chain for you to speak up. You displayed your gleaming ignorance with that comment. "A militant anti-religion belief" Have you ever actually looked into what being an atheist means. Past your own bigotry that is. Atheist prefer for the most part to be left alone. The main exception is that we tend to get a bit upset when people as ignorant as you violate our rights.

justme

Sep 2, 2009 1:30 AM CDT

Sorry Blah, Atheism is a militant anti-religious belief (like the Freedom from Religion people). Someone who does not believe but doesn't care whether I do or not is an agnostic.